Hand-held container

ABSTRACT

A hand-held container for liquid is provided, having a main body and a burstable membrane that is located over and seals peripherally with an outlet of the main body. The membrane can be broken by either squeezing the main body or by squeezing a ring to which the membrane is attached. A spout guides the liquid from the outlet of the main body after the membrane is broken.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Priority is claimed from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/438,864, filed on Jan. 8, 2003, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1). Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates to a hand-held container of the kind thatcan be used for containing and dispensing milk or other beverages,condiments, medicines, and cosmetics.

[0004] 2). Discussion of Related Art

[0005] Milk and other liquids are usually sold in a container having aremovable cap. Such a cap is often awkward and frustrating to remove andreplace, especially when the container is already held in one hand and aperson's other hand is not available. Some of these containers havepush-on caps that, at least conceivably, can be popped off by applyingpressure to the container, but that would cause spilling of the liquid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The invention provides a hand-held container for a liquid, whichincludes a main body having an internal volume for holding the liquid, aburstable member located over and peripherally sealing with an outletout of the main body so that the burstable member and the main bodyjointly retain the liquid within the internal volume, bursting of theburstable member allowing the liquid through the outlet of the mainbody, and a guide on a side of the burstable member opposing the mainbody, the liquid flowing through the guide after flowing through theoutlet.

[0007] The burstable member may be made of a thin plastics material suchas saran that can burst without the need for it to form a weakness.

[0008] The burstable member may alternatively be a membrane of astronger material such as aluminum which at least partially forms aweakness along which the membrane can tear to allow the liquid out ofthe internal volume.

[0009] Preferably, two adjacent portions of the membrane form theweakness, so that the adjacent portions separate along the weakness.

[0010] The membrane may have at least three weaknesses, so that themembrane has at least three portions that separate from one another.

[0011] The weaknesses may meet at a junction at or near a center of themembrane.

[0012] The main body may be made of a flexible material that can bedeformed in a squeezing action to pressurize the liquid, pressure of theliquid causing tearing of the membrane.

[0013] The main body may be made of a flexible material in a region ofthe outlet to allow for deformation of the outlet, deformation of theoutlet causing tearing of the membrane.

[0014] The guide may be a spout secured to the main body through whichthe liquid flows after flowing through the outlet.

[0015] The spout preferably surrounds the liquid.

[0016] The hand-held container may, in addition to the burstable member,include a retaining component which defines an enclosed volume togetherwith the spout, the retaining component being removable to allow for theliquid to flow out of the spout.

[0017] The invention also provides a hand-held container which includesa main body capable of holding a liquid within an internal volumethereof and having an aperture, and a membrane located over andperipherally sealing with the aperture, so that the membrane togetherwith the main body retain liquid within the internal volume, themembrane at least partially forming a weakness along which the membranecan tear to allow the liquid out of the internal volume.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The invention is further described by way of example withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0019]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a hand-held containeraccording to an embodiment of the invention;

[0020]FIG. 2 is an end view of the container;

[0021]FIG. 3 is an end view of a burstable membrane forming part of thecontainer; and

[0022]FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, illustrating one manner ofbreaking the membrane.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023]FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings illustrate a hand-heldcontainer 10, according to an embodiment of the invention, whichincludes a main body 12, a spout 14, a burstable membrane 16, and aretaining plug 18. The main body 12 and the spout 14 are integrallyformed in a molding process, and the burstable membrane 16 is typicallyformed in the same molding process. Another alternative is to have themembrane 16 made from a sheet of thinner material than the main body 12and subsequently welding or fusing the membrane to the main body 12utilizing a heated or rotating plunger. The retaining plug 18 issubsequently located on the spout 14. The spout 14 could also be weldedto the main body 12 in a separate stage of manufacture, either before orafter filling of the main body with a liquid. Welding can beaccomplished with a heated or rotating plunger, sonic welding, inductionwelding, etc.

[0024] The main body 12 has a length 20 and a diameter 22. The diameter22 is typically about 0.75 inches, and the length may, for example, beabout 2.2 inches. The main body 12 has a wall 24 having a thickness ofapproximately 0.5 mm, and is made of a flexible plastics material. Thewall 24 defines an internal volume 26.

[0025] The main body 12 has an outlet 28. The outlet 28 has a diameterof approximately 0.25 inches, or perhaps up to 0.5 inches. There are nooutlets out of the main body other than the outlet 28.

[0026]FIG. 3 illustrates the membrane 16 in more detail. The membrane 16has an outer edge 32 that seals peripherally with a ring 34. The ring 34is circumferentially fused with the outlet 28. Six weaknesses 38 areformed in the membrane 16. The weaknesses 38 meet at a center of themembrane 16. The weaknesses 38 divide the membrane 16 into sixcontiguous portions 40.

[0027] Referring again to FIG. 1, the spout 14 is located on a side ofthe membrane 16 opposing the main body 12. The spout 14 tapers to asmall opening 42 in an end thereof. The retaining plug 18 is located inthe opening 42 so that the spout 14, the membrane 16, and the retainingplug 18 jointly define an enclosed volume 44.

[0028] In use, the internal volume 26 is filled with a liquid 48. Theliquid may, for example, be milk or another beverage, a condiment, amedicine, or a cosmetic. The internal volume 26 is typically filled withthe liquid 48 before final molding of the main body 12 is completed. Assuch, the internal volume 26 can be filled with the liquid 48 and air bevented from the internal volume 26, whereafter the main body 12 isfinally molded so that the liquid 48 is held within the internal volume26. The base (on the right in FIG. 1) may, for example, be left open andthe main body 12 may be filled with the base at the top, whereafter thebase can be crimped closed, similar to a tube of toothpaste. The liquid48 is then prevented from leaving the internal volume 26, jointly by themain body 12 and the membrane 16. Alternatively, the main body 12 may befilled through the outlet 28 with a liquid, whereafter the membrane 16is welded onto the main body 12.

[0029] What should be noted is that there is little or no gas trappedwithin the internal volume 26. Liquid expands more slowly withtemperature than gas, and a large pocket of gas will unduly pressurizethe internal volume 26 at increased temperature and cause undesiredbursting of the membrane 16. The main body 12 may be shaped and be madeof a material that will accommodate small increases in volume due toexpansion. Gas, on the other hand, is more compressible than liquid.Compressibility of the gas can be used to compensate for undesiredsqueezing, for example during transportation.

[0030] A person may squeeze the main body 12 in order to burst themembrane 16. Squeezing of the main body 12 increases the pressure withinthe internal volume 26, which causes an increase in pressure on one sideof the membrane 16. The membrane 16 then breaks along one or more of theweaknesses 38, which allows the liquid 48 to flow through the outlet 28into the enclosed volume 44. The retaining plug 18 may be removed beforesqueezing of the main body 12, or may be removed by the liquid thatflows into and pressurizes the enclosed volume 44. The liquid isentirely surrounded by the spout 14, and is guided by the spout 14 outof the opening 42.

[0031] In the embodiment where the membrane 16 has weaknesses formedtherein, the membrane 16 is typically made of a material such asaluminum. It may also be possible to make the membrane of a thinplastics material such as polyethylene, polystyrene, saran, etc., thatwill burst without the need for weaknesses.

[0032]FIG. 4 illustrates another way of breaking the membrane 16,instead of by squeezing the main body 12. According to the methodillustrated in FIG. 4, an opposing force 50 is applied to the ring 34.The opposing force 50 may, for example, be applied by squeezing the ring34 between a thumb and a forefinger. The ring 34 deforms from a circularshape into an oval shape, which causes breaking of the membrane 16 alongone or more of the weaknesses 38.

[0033] Another system may use an “active” component to release thefluid. For example, a sharp component may puncture the membrane. Such acomponent may, for example, be activated by squeezing the maincontainer.

[0034] It can thus be seen that the membrane 16 provides a speedy andconvenient system for releasing the liquid 48 from the internal volume26, especially because of the possibility for one-handed operation.Although the liquid 38 is easily dispensed, the spout 14 still guidesand directs the liquid to control the flow thereof out of the container10.

[0035] Although a specific embodiment is described, it should beunderstood that variations are possible without departing from the scopeand spread of the invention. It may, for example, be possible to have amembrane that bursts at its periphery. It may also be possible to have aburstable or pop-out plug instead of a burstable membrane. As will beappreciated, it may also be possible to have a channel-shaped guideinstead of a spout that entirely surrounds the liquid.

[0036] While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shownin the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that suchembodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictive of the currentinvention, and that this invention is not restricted to the specificconstructions and arrangements shown and described since modificationsmay occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art.

What is claimed:
 1. A hand-held container for a liquid, comprising: amain body having an internal volume for holding the liquid; a burstablemember located over and peripherally sealing with an outlet out of themain body so that the burstable member and the main body jointly retainthe liquid within the internal volume, bursting of the burstable memberallowing the liquid through the outlet of the main body; and a guide ona side of the burstable member opposing the main body, the liquidflowing through the guide after flowing through the outlet.
 2. Thehand-held container of claim 1, wherein the burstable member is amembrane which at least partially forms a weakness along which themembrane can tear to allow the liquid out of the internal volume.
 3. Thehand-held container of claim 2, wherein two adjacent portions of themembrane form the weakness, so that the adjacent portions separate alongthe weakness.
 4. The hand-held container of claim 2, wherein themembrane has at least three weaknesses, so that the membrane has atleast three portions that separate from one another.
 5. The hand-heldcontainer of claim 4, wherein the weaknesses meet at a junction at ornear a center of the membrane.
 6. The hand-held container of claim 1,wherein the main body is made of a flexible material that can bedeformed in a squeezing action to pressurize the liquid, pressure of theliquid causing tearing of the membrane.
 7. The hand-held container ofclaim 1, wherein the main body is made of a flexible material in aregion of the outlet to allow for deformation of the outlet, deformationof the outlet causing tearing of the membrane.
 8. The hand-heldcontainer of claim 1, wherein the guide is a spout secured to the mainbody through which the liquid flows after flowing through the outlet. 9.The hand-held container of claim 8, wherein the spout surrounds theliquid.
 10. The hand-held container of claim 1 which, in addition to theburstable member, includes a retaining component which defines anenclosed volume together with the spout, the retaining component beingremovable to allow for the liquid to flow out of the spout.
 11. Ahand-held container, comprising: a main body capable of holding a liquidwithin an internal volume thereof and having an aperture; and a membranelocated over and peripherally sealing with the aperture, so that themembrane together with the main body retains liquid within the internalvolume, the membrane at least partially forming a weakness along whichthe membrane can tear to allow the liquid out of the internal volume.